The Best in Brazil’s Pantheon?

Not to state the obvious, but the beautiful game is no stranger to Brazil. We can start with who many consider to be the god of football, Pele, who is the all-time lead scorer in the game and transcends the sport into mainstream visibility with his immense stature. Or take Zico, the man who many […]
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sambafoot_admin
2015-05-21 15:48:00

Not to state the obvious, but the beautiful game is no stranger to Brazil. We can start with who many consider to be the god of football, Pele, who is the all-time lead scorer in the game and transcends the sport into mainstream visibility with his immense stature. Or take Zico, the man who many compared to Pele, who went on to become a successful coach after a luminary career as a specialist with his vision and footwork. Luis Ronaldo was a megastar in his own right more recently, featuring that ubiquitous gap-toothed smile and joining the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to win FIFA Player of the Year three times or more. Finally, consider Roberto Carlos, who may not be able to take the cake as greatest of all time from Brazil, but who was still a prolific winner at every level.
Let’s take a closer look at these four giants of Brazilian football and consider their standing in comparison with their current leading man, Neymar.

The King of Football

It is with no small fanfare that the much-heralded, nearly unanimously-recognized Greatest of All Time, the man also known as The Black Pearl, King Pele, or merely The King, was also voted world player of the century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics. At the same time, he was voted player of the century by his fellow Ballon d’Or winners and named by the IOC as athlete of the century. To further prove his status truly transcends the pitch, he was named to the top 100 most influential people of the century in TIME Magazine’s tally at the end of the last century.
To top off these accomplishments, he also holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for the highest goal scorer in the history of the game with 1281 goals in 1363 games, including tour games and unofficial friendlies. That figure is staggering, with an average of approximately 0.94 goals per game. Another way to consider that figure is that for every 100 matches he played, he scored a goal in all but six of them.
To top off his accomplishments, consider his status as the only player to win three World Cups and the top goal scorer for his country (77 goals in 92 caps), in addition to being the record goal scorer for his first club, Santos, for whom he started playing professionally from the ripe age of 15.

The White Pele

Zico’s claim to fame is as one of the top finishers and best passers ever, two pretty important skills in the game of football. He is one of the pioneers of the now common Brazilian football stereotype of being able to bend the ball at impossible angles, bringing alive the worst nightmares of goalkeepers the world over of being caught flat-footed on the goal line. While he did not win a World Cup, he is often remembered for being a part of the best Brazilian side ever in 1982. He won Player of the Year the preceding and following year for a total of two honours, and he was credited or being an inspired playmaker, possessing a vision of the whole pitch unrivalled by his peers.
He sits fourth all-time on the Seleção’s scoring rank with a total of 48 goals in 71 appearances. Also prolific are coaching tenures he has overseen. His experience as head coach range from Turkey to Greece, from Japan to Russia, and he has managed this over the course of some 16 years.

The Phenomenon

This man was an absolute flurry of speed, power, and skill. The two-time Ballon d’Or winner known simply as Ronaldo was mesmerizing to watch, both for his fans and the opposing players he went against. In the 98 matches he played for his national team, he scored 62 goals, good for second all-time in the record books of his country. He was prolific in the World Cup, scoring two goals in the decisive 2002 final match, and setting a record at the time with a 15th World Cup goal in 2006, an even more impressive feat when you consider his World Cup career spanned four entire tournaments, dating back to 1994. It is with good reason he is considered among the very best strikers of all time.

The Winner

Roberto Carlos was known for more than his small stature – all 5’6” of him – and his immensely daunting tree trunks for legs. As a back, he routinely charged to the front of the ranks down the side, leading the attack and catching his opposing backline on their heels. Then there were his free kicks, which were a spectacle in themselves, easily in the best Brazilian free-kick takers ever. One in particular is probably one of the most famous, most watched football plays of all time where he bends the ball at virtually an impossible curvature, faking out the goalie in the most gravity-defying way possible.
Of course, he was not just a maestro of the spot. His tenacious defending and lightning quick counter-attacks powered his teams to four La Liga titles, three Champions League medals, and one World Cup trophy. Roberto was indeed a world-class player that deserves his spot in the pantheon of Brazilian greats.

The Wunderkind

Once Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo finish trading off on Ballon d’Or trophies, it is a prize that is likely Neymar’s to lose. The Brazilian sensation is that skilled, that electric in his all-around play whether he is setting up teammates Messi or Luis Suarez for an easy look or if he is making a shot around multiple defenders look easy. The striker is not just unselfish in this way, but possess the dribbling skills to deke or feign whichever which way – often making his opponents look silly in the meantime – and finish with absolute class and an elite touch. He’s destroyed teams on his own, and carries a whole nation’s weight on his shoulders with ease. No wonder he has so earned so many fans in his short career.
The next generation superstar has it all, and he is making it happen off the pitch too. Ranked in 2012 and 2013 as the world’s most marketable athlete, he is now the recipient of a lucrative 11-year Nike contract as well as being one of the public faces for the top online poker site, PokerStars. Only time will tell if he joins Brazil’s all-time greats, but destiny is sure looking kindly upon those chances. He may very well go down as the greatest of them all.